


Never or Forever

by almaasi



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Best Friends, Bisexual Dean Winchester, Bisexual Jody Mills, Eavesdropping, Eileen Leahy Lives, Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Ships Castiel/Dean Winchester, Family Dinners, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kaia Nieves Lives, M/M, Matchmaker Jody Mills, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Multi, POV Jody Mills, Relationship Reveal, Resolved Romantic Tension, Romance, Wayward Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-16 23:41:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15448449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/almaasi/pseuds/almaasi
Summary: During an impromptu family dinner, Jody figures out that Dean is in a happy long-term relationship. But does he evenknow? Cas is clearly paying attention. Yet Dean seems to think he's single. Jody never thought of herself as a meddler – but clearly, under circumstances such as these, something must bedone.





	Never or Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by [Mittens](http://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/) and [Amara](http://sweetdreamspootypie.tumblr.com/)!!

Jody had not planned for a full house, but she got one anyway.

First Dean and Sam arrived, without warning – because Dean needed to “borrow the shower for two minutes”, which actually meant he would be “in there for two hours” and “use all the nice soap”.

Alex and Claire lived here, so they already had seats at the table. But then Patience arrived with a stack of books and a deep frown, muttering about either magic or mathematics, so Jody told her to pull up a chair.

Sam and Patience fell into an animated conversation somewhere between the moment Alex’s new boyfriend arrived, saw the crowd, and immediately left, and when Donna called and asked if anyone wanted barbeque leftovers.

Jody said yes to the barbeque leftovers. She did a head-count and realised Kaia had snuck in when nobody was paying attention, and now they were down a chair.

“Gettin’ kinda crowded in here, huh,” Dean remarked, sauntering into the kitchen, drying his hair with one of Jody’s best towels. He was all spiky-haired and clean now, and looked less like a dust bunny than when he’d arrived. “At least we brought a pie for dessert. You need some help with the food? If you’ve got eggs and onions, I make a mean inch-thick tortilla.”

“Have at it,” Jody said blandly, cocking her head towards the stove. She still crouched in front of the open fridge, taking out stacks of leftovers. “There’s two-day old fries, chuck them in too.”

“Awesome,” Dean said, tossing away his towel. He washed his hands, and then prepared to cook, leaving Jody to organise plates and cutlery and _drinks_ – damn it, they needed drinks.

“Let’s see. We got flat ginger ale and expired cranberry juice, take your pick,” Jody said, placing both on the counter.

Dean scoffed, amused. “I can tell Cas to pick up somethin’ on the way.”

Jody smiled. “Well, with eight people already, what difference would a ninth make? That tortilla of yours better go a long way.”

“Hey, Cas barely eats, he’s probably just gonna sit there and stare at us, it’s fine,” Dean grinned, wiping his hand on his discarded towel as he left a lump of butter sizzling. “I’mma call him. Watch the pan for me? Once the butter’s melted, it needs twelve eggs. Then scramble.”

“Got it,” Jody said, watching Dean head out to the patio to make his call.

Why did he need to leave, exactly?

Jody busied herself cracking eggs, keeping an eye on the kids in the next room. They all had college coursework and research and magic to do, so she didn’t intend to ask them for help unless something caught fire.

She glanced over her shoulder, hearing Dean speaking to Castiel outside. “ _The whole gang’s basically here. You should come meet ‘em._ ” A pause. “ _Come onnn, they’re family._ ” A scoff. “ _Because you’re family too, Cas._ ” There was a smile in his voice as he said that. Jody leaned back to peer through the glass in the door, and she saw Dean with a hand in his pocket, biting his lower lip. “ _I’ll stall as much as I can ‘til you get here. People are kinda hungry though, so no promises. Yeah. See you soon._ ”

Dean hung up, holding the cellphone in his hand for a moment longer before he pocketed it.

He turned around, and Jody ducked back to the stove before Dean saw her.

He came inside with a sigh, clapping his hands and rubbing them. “Wow, it’s chilly out, huh.”

“You know you could’ve just called from in here,” Jody said, not looking at Dean as he closed the door. She poured the eggs into the pan, then let Dean take over again, spatula in hand. “It’s not like the reception’s bad. Alex texts her boyfriend basically twenty-four-seven.”

“Uh.” Dean shrugged. “So – Alex is dating again.”

“Yep.”

“Claire?”

Jody smirked, catching Dean’s curious eyes.

Dean seemed perplexed, but intrigued.

“I’m dating as well,” Jody said casually, while her stomach flipped and her hands tingled. “Just so you’re— You know. Caught up.”

“Oh, yeah?” Dean raised his eyebrows, looking thrilled. “Who’s the lucky guy? He a hunter?”

Jody’s smile split into a grin. “You know them, actually. And yeah.”

“I do?!” Dean paused in his chopping of two-day-old fries, staring at Jody. “Who the hell do _I_ know that _you_ know, who isn’t dead, a child, evil, married, or gay? It’s not Garth. No way it’s Garth.”

“Mm,” Jody said secretively, tipping her head, feeling the sparkle in her eyes. “I’ll let you figure it out, how about that.”

“Tease,” Dean said accusingly.

Jody carried on smiling, taking Dean’s chopped fries and scooping them into his omelette, while he started on the red onion.

“So is everyone here dating?” Dean wondered, looking up to examine the room of young adults, gathered here and there: on the plaid armchair, on the couch, and at the table, with Sam in the centre, twice as large as all the girls but with hair half as long. “Alex is dating. Claire too. You. Sam’s having a long-distance email affair with Eileen. So who does that leave? Kaia—?”

Jody chuckled.

“Damn.” Dean looked sharply at Jody. “Kaia too. What about Donn— Donna’s dating as well. Jeez. Okay. So it’s just me and Patience. _Wow_. So much for the lonely hunting lifestyle, huh. You guys are pairing up left, right, and centre. Guess it’s just good sense. Gotta have ourselves a good time before the world inevitably ends, right?”

Jody winked, turning away with cheese and crackers on a chopping board. She carried the board to the dining table, offering snacks – which were gone in ten seconds, and she carried the board right back.

“You really haven’t met anyone?” Jody asked quietly, nudging Dean in the side. “Not one person, in the ten years I’ve known you?”

Dean drew a breath, trying to smile but looking sad. “I, uh... Whatever happens never lasts long. So I kind of... gave up, I guess.” He frowned suddenly. “Well, no. That’s not true.”

Jody waited for an elaboration, picking out the best tomatoes and passing them to Dean.

“I kind of...” Dean nibbled his lower lip, pondering before he spoke. “I – used to like women a whole lot more than I do now.” He raised his eyebrows. Glancing at Jody, he pried, “You know? Back when you first met us, I was a whole different guy. Used to hit on chicks all the time. I’d be rolling in the hay basically a couple times a week, unless we got stuck into a hunt. Sometimes even then.”

“Well, people change,” Jody shrugged. “You’ve been through a lot. You’ve gotten older. Expecting your sex drive to keep up with that, that’s just setting you up for a let-down.”

“No. No, I mean...” Dean rested his tongue on his lower lip, apparently holding something back.

Jody looked at him carefully. “Hey. Maybe these days you’re just more interested in... _other_ things.”

Their eyes met. They both knew ‘other things’ meant ‘men’. But they didn’t say it.

Yet Dean shrugged. “Even that’s kind of... less, now.” He wet his lips, eyes darting away in embarrassment.

Jody touched the back of Dean’s warm bicep and gave him an assuring rub through his henley. “Stuff like that comes and goes. You’ll find someone when you’re ready. Or... like me? Maybe you’ll open your eyes someday and realise the right person was there all along.”

“Yeah.” Dean bowed his head. There was a tightness between his brows, and he swallowed tensely, but he didn’t say anything else.

“Or,” Jody said quietly – very quietly – “maybe you’re a little more like Patience.”

“Patience?”

Jody looked at Dean gently. “Dating isn’t really her thing. Or sex. She keeps herself to herself.”

“Well, come on, she’s young, she can’t know—”

“She knows what she’s about,” Jody smiled. “As well as you did when you were her age.”

“Eh.” Dean cocked his head, flashing a small grin. “Didn’t figure that shit out until my thirties. But,” he nodded, head down. “Yeah, I knew what I liked. Just didn’t realise it meant something.”

“Patience knows what it means for her.”

“Ah... that’s awesome. But—” Dean rolled a shoulder. “That’s not me, though. There’s still... desire, or whatever. I still got it. It’s just goin’ nowhere.”

Jody nudged Dean with her wrist. “Come on, I can hear a car in the driveway.”

“Yeah, that’s Cas,” Dean said, eyes already gleaming. “Thank God, I’m not the only single loner here tonight.”

Jody left Dean to finish up the tortilla, while she crossed the living room, clapping her hands as she went: “All right, everyone clear away your work, bring the plates to the table, and we’ll eat. Alex, no phone. I want that thing switched off. Sam, you too.”

“But Eileen—”

“ _Off_.”

Sam sighed, then bent his head to type out one more reply.

Jody opened the door and discovered Castiel and Donna hugging on the front step. “Oh, hello. Am I interrupting something?” she smiled, grinning as they broke apart. “Hey, babe.” She leaned to peck Donna on the lips, then welcomed Castiel in with a sweeping arm. “Come on in. Let’s get that barbeque into the kitchen.”

“Ooh, smells _good_ in here,” Donna said. “Dean’s making tortilla again? Smells spicy.”

“Cas, the drinks—” Jody thumbed over her shoulder, but found her train of thought curtailed. “Hm. Okay, you hug Dean, and we’ll sort out the drinks after, how about that.”

Jody backed up, closing the door. Dean had wrapped his arms all the way behind Cas’ neck, eyes shut, his chin on his angel friend’s shoulder. Castiel exhaled, smiling too, resting his temple against Dean’s.

Jody stepped past, glanced at the half-laid table, glanced back – and they were still hugging. They finally separated, and Dean patted Castiel’s shoulder as if nothing were unusual about an eight-second hug.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

“Cas, this is Alex,” Jody said. “Alex, Castiel— Oop.”

Claire pushed past Alex and glomped Castiel right around the middle. Castiel raised his arms, and Dean took the shopping bag of drinks from him, grinning.

“Hello, Claire,” Castiel said softly, touching her golden hair. “It’s good to see you.”

Claire backed away at last, ducking, stroking her waves back, smiling sweetly. “You too. Glad you’re still alive and stuff.” She clapped Alex on the back.

“Hi,” Alex said stiffly.

Castiel stared at Alex. “Hello.”

“You’re an angel,” Alex said.

“I try to be, yes,” Castiel smiled.

“Cool,” Alex said, sticking out her hand. “I’m a nurse. At least I try to be.”

Castiel shook her hand. “ _Cool_ ,” he said, his mouth forming strangely around the word.

Jody snickered. “Come on through, Cas.”

She left him behind when Sam took him for a brief hug, and rolled her eyes fondly when she heard Dean mutter, “Cas! C’mere,” shifting along a dining seat so there’d be room beside him.

“Hey, that’s my seat,” Sam complained.

“You can have the wheely chair,” Dean offered, kicking the computer chair out from the end of the table. “Best chair in the house, Sammy.”

Sam sat, looking unimpressed, but smug when he sat down.

Castiel followed Jody to the kitchen, washing his hands in the sink. “Hm. While I’m not one for food, in general,” he said, in his low, rumbly voice, “I would be remiss if I didn’t comment on how good this meal smells.”

“Hey, pin that one on your boyfriend,” Jody smiled. “He’s the one who cooked.” She pulled the barbeque dinner out of the takeout boxes with tongs, and laid the ribs onto a serving plate so they didn’t look like the police department’s leftovers.

“Um,” Castiel said, standing with empty hands, looking at the food. “Do you need me to do something?”

“Just take these to the table and try not to look so nervous,” Jody suggested, patting Castiel on the back. “Nobody here bites. Alex used to, but we fixed her.”

Castiel’s eyes gleamed, understanding the joke. “Thank you for letting me attend this gathering. I sincerely hope I’m not intruding—”

“Do you see a shotgun anywhere on my person?” Jody asked, opening her arms.

“No.”

“No. Because you are welcome in this house, at any time, for any reason. If you were intruding, you’d be out in the yard with your hands up.”

Castiel smiled. He nodded. He took the plate of crispy ribs and carried them through to the table, placing them down on the tablecloth, then going to his seat beside Dean.

“Hey,” Dean said, watching Castiel sit.

“Hello.” Castiel glanced away, smiling at Jody as she took her place at the head of the table, right next to Sam.

“Everyone dig in!” Jody said brightly, glad to see the whole family rush to grab whatever looked most appetising. All except one. “Kaia, please eat something.”

“Don’t you have anything that isn’t dead or comes out of a chicken’s ass?” Kaia said, her brown skin and dark hair making up a little shadow beside Claire.

Jody gnawed her lip, thinking.

“Pasta?” Dean said, passing a bowl down the table. “It’s got tomato bits in it, chopped ‘em myself.”

Kaia took the bowl gratefully. “Who’s your friend?” she asked, nodding upward at Castiel.

“Who, this guy?” Dean thumbed at Castiel. “He’s our— Uh. My, um.” He smiled awkwardly, looking at Castiel. “Guardian angel?”

Castiel smiled back, holding Dean’s gaze. “That sounds about right.”

“He’s my other- _other_ dad,” Claire said to Kaia. “Y’know. The possessed one.”

“Ohhhh.” Kaia smiled. “The one who came back from the dead a bajillion times.”

“Yeah, you two have something in common,” Alex uttered, tucking her hair behind her ears. Glancing at Castiel, she explained, “We all thought Kaia was a goner, but then bam, shows up on the doorstep, good as new – and in a great mood. Not a single nightmare since.”

Claire’s eyes glistened with stars as she gazed at Kaia.

Dean raised his eyebrows, lips pulling into a soft ‘o’, his attention set on Claire, then Kaia, then Claire again. The tortilla on his fork steamed, but went forgotten.

Jody cleared her throat, catching Dean’s eyes when he glanced at her. “What’s so interesting over there?” she asked.

Dean inhaled, looking down. “What. Nothing. Just.” He cleared his throat, glancing in that direction again. “Hey. Claire. Jody tells me you’re dating?”

“You are?” Castiel said, looking concerned.

Claire smiled, then grinned. “Yeah. Couple months, now. Just figure,” she shuggled, glancing at Kaia, who smirked back, “universe gave us a second chance. Gotta be crazy to pass that up, right?” She smiled over at Dean.

Castiel began to smile. “Yes.”

Dean gulped, eyes darting to Castiel, then to his food. “Yeah,” he said breathily. “Real crazy.”

Jody took the pepper-grinder from Sam, then passed it to Castiel. Castiel scrunched out a single peppercorn onto his hand, sniffed it – touched it to his tongue – then passed the pepper-grinder along, still examining the peppercorn.

“What about you?” Patience asked, sitting primly, wearing a calm smile. She blinked at Castiel, holding a forkful of barbeque meat that had been neatly cut with a knife.

“Pardon me?” Castiel asked, placing the peppercorn before him, eyes on Patience across the table.

“How long have you been together?” Patience’s eyes shot to Dean and back.

“Oh, boy,” Jody sighed under her breath. Sam chuckled in response, suddenly paying a lot of attention.

Dean’s lower lip bobbed. “Who?” he asked.

“You and Castiel,” Patience said, now confused. She gestured with her fork. “You two.”

Dean looked at Cas. Cas looked at his hands, linking them on the tabletop.

Dean looked back at Patience, huffing nervously. “Nnnn. No, we’re not— Him and me, we’re not—” He waggled a finger between himself and Castiel, shaking his head.

“Ten years,” Castiel said, cutting across Dean’s flustering. “Nine years, ten months and a week, to be more precise. But I believe humans are often less than precise. So ten years.”

Dean fidgeted. “But we’re not dating, though.”

“But we have, in fact, been together for ten years,” Castiel said to his peppercorn, eyebrows rising in sharp curves. Then he squinted.

“Well. Yeah.” Dean grinned. He nudged Cas with his entire left side. “Best friends.”

Patience didn’t look convinced. “I _see_ ,” she said.

“You know you’re talking to a psychic, right?” Claire said slyly, grinning wolf-like across the table at Dean. “Patience _knows_ some shit.”

“Claire, language,” Jody said mildly.

Dean swallowed. “Huh,” he breathed – but the fretting was gone from his expression, and he looked intrigued. He glanced at Castiel, tearing part of a bread roll between his fingers as he remarked, “How about that, Cas. You’re my longest-ever relationship.”

Castiel smiled back. The smile reached his eyes, and they _twinkled_. “Mine too.”

Dean licked his lips, ripping another section of bread, the first chunk dropped and forgotten. He ripped a third, drawing a breath. His gaze skipped to Jody – and Jody’s focus rose from Dean’s bread pile to his eyes.

There was knowing in his gaze, now. Understanding.

 _Cas_ was the reason Dean’s attraction to other people had faded. _Cas_ was the one Dean was looking for. _Cas_ had been there all along and now—

All of a sudden, the wisdom in Dean’s eyes was gone, and he smiled dismissively, glancing away with the slightest wrinkle between his eyebrows, as if he’d dipped his toes into bizarro world and then hopped back out, discarding all thoughts as ridiculous.

The change _frustrated_ Jody. She knew that kind of dismissal intimately. She’d never been so outright herself, and had never needed to stare at Donna for long, since all her thoughts happened in her head, and she didn’t need a visual reference. But Jody saw what Dean was doing. And she saw what he was _not_ doing. And she decided she would not stand for it.

Jody had never thought of herself as a meddler, but clearly, under circumstances such as these, something ought to be _done_.

So Jody looked over at Donna. Donna was busy eating, as she so loved to do; she’d piled her plate with some of everything, and had somehow purloined some of Kaia’s pasta along the way.

“Donna,” Jody said sweetly, while determination tensed her hand around her fork handle. “Babe. How about you tell Dean how we got together? I think it’s a story he might... _relate_ to, on a personal level, perhaps.”

Dean choked on his expired cranberry juice. “ _We_ ’,” he said. “As in you and Donna?” He put the glass down, pushed it away, and stared at Donna. “Holy—!”

“You’re dating?” Sam said, head drawn back, chin wrinkled, scowling in an amused sort of way. “Since _when_?”

“Shince Kaia came backh from the dead under m’sterious chircumshtances,” Claire said, with one cheek bulging with food.

Claire swallowed, but Kaia was the one who continued, deadpan, “Claire made a very impassioned speech. Tears were shed. Clothes were torn.”

“Aggressive kisses were applied to Kaia’s face,” Alex complained, rubbing her forehead.

“Wait, how—?” Dean flicked a finger between Kaia and Donna. “How does this relate? And how is this relevant to _me_ specifically?”

Patience sighed, patting her lips with a napkin. “Claire’s so-called _impassioned speech_ went along the lines of ‘oh my God, Kaia, you’re alive’, immediately followed by ‘hey, by the way, do you wanna make out?’”

“It did _not_ ,” Claire rolled her eyes.

“Hey, _psychic_ ,” Alex reminded her sister. “It totally did.”

“It did _not_! And just ‘cause Patience sees the _future_ doesn’t mean she has a perfect _memory_ , dipshit.”

“Did! And it _so_ does! It goes both ways!”

“Oh, please, _I_ go both ways,” Claire sneered. “Takes one to know one, _Alex_.”

“My memory is fine,” Patience snapped. “I was explaining the gist of it, _god_.”

Castiel squinted at the screeching, jabbering ruckus that unfolded before them. “I’m not following.”

Jody patted his sleeve, giving a sigh.

“Jeez _Louise_ , girlies, pull yourselves _together_ ,” Donna yelped, thwapping Claire lightly on the forehead with a spoon. “Maybe we don’t all remember that night the same way, but heck, the core of the matter was that—” she looked Jody’s way lovingly, past Sam and Patience, “life’s too dang short to waste _not_ showin’ off the love all bundled up inside each ‘n every one of us, you know?”

Donna took a breath, and shrugged her shoulders, wrinkling her baby-blue work shirt. “Sometimes we gotta start things before we’re ready, and before we’re totally, a-hundred-percent _sure_ about how we feel about a person. Maybe we’re not convinced a certain someone would be a perfect fit in the gosh-darn crazy lives we hunters lead. But then there’s some people who are there with ya, right beside ya, and there’s no questioning. They’ve been there all along. And there’s nobody – not one other person – who’d be a better fit.”

Jody rested her chin in one palm, smiling, and her other hand on the table, wishing she could reach to hold Donna’s hand.

Donna blew her a kiss, and Jody laughed, joy rising through her body as she caught the kiss and touched it to her heart.

“Sometimes best friends make the best partners,” Donna said, nodding slowly, her gaze locked to Jody’s. “And sometimes, they’re the only ones who will do.”

Hearing Donna say those words made Jody feel like the sun was warming her skin. She basked in it, loving it – and then she looked over at Dean, eager to see what he thought.

Dean was fiddling with his fork, not looking at anyone. Jody’s heart sank.

But in looking that way, Jody noticed Castiel peering at her. She met his eyes, and smiled: he looked radiant with comprehension and appreciation. “I agree,” Castiel said. “Fully. Completely. And I’m incredibly happy for you. Both of you.” He nodded to Donna, then looked over at Kaia and Claire, who were swapping plates to finish each other’s meals. “I wish every single one of you the best.”

“Me too,” Sam said, taking the glass of pulpy orange juice that Castiel had brought. He lifted it in a toast. “To finding the one.”

“To friends coming back from the dead,” Claire said, raising her own juice.

Kaia snorted, raising a toast to “Power lesbians,” which made Dean grin, thus proving that he was, in fact, listening.

“To love of all kinds,” Patience said, raising her filtered water. “And a lot of it.”

Donna sighed. “Well, now I can’t think of anything,” she tutted, grinning as she raised her glass. “To something good. Insert toast here.” The others chuckled.

Dean pushed his tongue slowly between his lips. He cleared his throat, and reached for his glass. He touched the glass, then curled his fingers, withdrawing. He glanced at Castiel. “You got somethin’, buddy?”

Castiel took Dean’s glass, since he didn’t have one of his own. “To being part of a family,” he said softly.

Dean’s eyes immediately welled with tears, and he looked at the table, smiling widely.

Jody raised her glass next, as the others looked to her. “To realising what’s really important in our own lives,” she said, looking over at Dean, “and making a move before it’s too late. To realising we might not _get_ another one-in-a-billion chance someday down the line, and that right _now_ might be your only window. Never, or forever.”

Alex noticed what Jody was trying to do, given she hadn’t exactly been subtle. So Alex raised her own glass, and swilled her orange juice around the base, before saying, directly to Dean, “To Dean and Cas.”

Dean gnawed on his lip. A flicker of confusion crossed his forehead – but again, it vanished, as if it had never been there.

He reached for an empty glass.

He picked up the cranberry juice.

Poured himself a drink.

Held the glass in his right hand.

Smiled.

“What you guys said,” he said, then tipped back the juice and swallowed. Everyone else drank, but Jody hesitated for a moment, wanting to see what Dean did after. Dean set his glass down, cringing. But then his eyes went to Castiel, who apparently found expired cranberry juice surprisingly palatable.

Dean stared at him, at the side of his face. There was love in his eyes. It had the kind of romantic intensity that could only happen on top of a _decade_ of close friendship.

He didn’t look away. He didn’t change his expression. Not even when Castiel looked back at him. If anything, the adoration in his expression seemed to amplify when Castiel mirrored it.

Now Jody drank.

She set down her glass, then glanced over at Donna. Donna had noticed Dean and Cas having a moment, too. Her delicate eyebrows jumped towards her hairline, acknowledging to Jody: she saw what Jody saw. She didn’t look all that surprised.

Claire realised the table had gone quiet, and she turned away from Kaia, only to catch on right away. She grinned into her drink, looking devilish and smug. Clearly, she’d known about Dean’s feelings for his friend long before Jody.

Dean took a small breath. “Cas.”

Castiel blinked. “Yes, Dean?”

Dean glanced around, immediately realising they were being watched. “Uh. We got— There’s pie in the fridge. We should go prep it so – y’know, so we’re not all waiting around for dessert.”

Castiel remained seated when Dean stood up. “Um.”

“C’mon,” Dean said, batting Castiel’s shoulder.

Dean eased past behind Castiel’s chair, and then behind Jody and Sam. Castiel looked around at everyone, and saw Donna gesture that he should get up. He hesitated for a moment longer, then stood, one hand on the back of his chair. He followed Dean, trailing his scent into Jody’s breathing space: he smelled like woodsmoke and cold winter air.

The eyes of the whole family followed Castiel to the kitchen door, where Dean waited, one hand over his mouth. Dean’s eyes shone and his hand dropped – he smiled, leading Castiel to the kitchen.

“What are the chances he chickens out?” Alex said under her breath.

“Shh,” Claire scolded. “I’m listening.”

Jody listened too.

The fridge did not open.

Dean’s mutter just about made it to the table, “ _Ah— Too quiet in here. C’mon._ ”

“ _Where are we going?_ ” Castiel asked.

“ _Outside. I gotta talk to you. Just for a sec. Hey, leave the pie— Don’t worry about it. I was just trying to get you alone._ ”

The back door opened. And then shut.

“Whooooo,” Claire hooted, leaning back in her chair and locking her hands behind her head. “My dads are finally growing up! I am _so_ proud of them!”

Sam chuckled, laying his fork down on his empty plate. “They might be a while.”

“Yeah, they might be,” Donna said sternly, looking at her almost-empty dinner plate. “If they’re not getting the pie, who is?”

“Not me,” Alex said, hands up. “I’m not getting caught accidentally eavesdropping. I’m not pissing off an angel.”

“I’ll go,” Jody sighed, pretending it was an act of bravery, when really she was deeply invested in the outcome of Dean’s conversation, and wanted to see first-hand what the heck was going on out there. Besides... pie. Pie was important.

The rest of the family cheered encouragement as she made her way to the kitchen. She felt like she was going into battle, somehow.

Jaw set, movements forcefully casual, Jody approached the fridge. Dean and Cas were out there on the back stoop, and Dean had turned the light on, so their bodies were drenched in gold from above. Dean breathed out a glittering cloud – but he wasn’t speaking.

“ _Dean,_ ” Castiel said. “ _I know you didn’t bring me out here just to watch airplanes pass overhead._ ”

Dean huffed a laugh, hands deep in his pockets, chin turned down. “ _Yeah. Um._ ”

Jody slowly... _slowly_ crouched down, pulling open the fridge door. Guilt swirled in her gut, but she tried to ignore it. For a moment she focused on retrieving the pie. She had a purpose here, and whatever she overheard was... purely accidental.

“ _Look, Cas— What I wanna say. It— It’s been ten years. And. And I can barely believe it, you know? I friggin’ stabbed you in the heart when we first met,_ ” Dean chuckled through a breath. “ _And now look._ ”

Jody glanced over, eyebrows rising: Dean had taken Castiel’s hand to hold it.

“ _Dean—_ ”

“ _I used to – sleep with women, a whole lot more. Do you remember?_ ”

“ _Vividly,_ ” Castiel stated.

Dean exhaled. “ _Yeah. Well— Stuff like that, it’s... It happens way less for me, now. I haven’t been with anyone for – over a year, actually. Other people just kind of... aren’t what I’m lookin’ for. Not any more. And there’s a reason for that. A really important... reason._ ”

Castiel gazed at Dean softly. Expecting. Knowing. _Longing_.

Dean lifted his gaze and met Castiel’s stare. He parted his lips, and vapour floated out, glowing gold. “ _Like Donna said. Sometimes— Best friends..._ ” He cocked his head but didn’t finish his sentence.

He let Castiel go. “ _Ah. Look, I was just— You know what, never mind, I shouldn’t be— C’mon, let’s head in, it’s cold out—_ ”

Jody plopped the pie onto a plate, preparing to flee.

“ _Dean—!_ ” Castiel grabbed Dean’s hand, preventing him from turning to go inside. “ _Say it. We’re not leaving until I hear what you want to tell me._ ”

Such demand. He knew exactly what Dean wasn’t saying and, like Jody, he wasn’t having it. Ten years was long enough.

Dean swallowed. He turned his head away from the door, looking back at Castiel – desperate and vulnerable and afraid. He didn’t want to say it.

Or maybe he _did_ want to – with every fibre of his body, he wanted to – but he couldn’t.

Jody knew how it felt to be that scared, that convinced that _giving_ your intimate self to someone who knew you so well was dangerous. Loving Donna had halved every trouble and doubled every fear she had. But Jody had done it before with her husband, so she knew what it felt like to be one of two. Dean had always revolved around Sam, the pair of them spinning like binary stars – so how much harder would it be to do it again? To fall inside a black hole and begin a new universe within? To hand over part of his soul, practically? To entrust himself—

Dean leaned in and kissed Castiel.

Head tilted. Hands holding his coat. Frowning.

Then Dean pulled back, staring. Waiting for a response.

Jody’s breath had gone short. Her heart was racing. Everything Dean was feeling right now was something she’d felt, and understood, and was now re-living. This was a moment of terror and joy for her, as it was for Dean.

Castiel breathed out, shoulders lowering.

The picture was so still. Serene, almost. There were no close-ups like in the movies; no quick cuts to show the minute changes of facial expressions, to show Dean looking into Cas’ eyes, or Cas looking back.

It was simply a frozen moment in time. Paused. Breath held.

Nobody moved.

Then Castiel bowed his head and smiled.

Dean relaxed, and blasted out a gust of golden air that clouded around Castiel’s face and dissipated. Dean touched Castiel’s heart, and Castiel reached to hold his hand.

Their eyes met again, and their bodies moved closer.

Castiel kissed Dean – just once, so simply – and Dean smiled, head ducked, no doubt blushing.

They said nothing.

They embraced, sinking into each other’s arms, holding tight. They swayed a little.

Smiling widely, Jody picked a knife and a set of bowls from the kitchen, making sure to remain silent. She carried the pie to the table, grinning now. Everyone turned to watch her approach, muttering and making eager sounds.

“What happened?” Donna asked. “Did they?”

Jody was about to speak but held back her reply; the back door opened, and a rush of cold air carried all the way to the dining table. Jody cut up the pie in its aluminum tin, and was just serving the first slice when Dean entered. Castiel came in behind him, holding his hand.

They were both smiling like there was firelight inside them, like they were warmed from the core and their hearts were aflame. They took their seats without a word.

Dean sat, pulling his chair up to the table.

And he looked up at Jody, childlike delight dancing in his eyes.

Jody smirked. “Pie?” she asked.

“Yeah.” Dean pushed an empty bowl closer. “Thank you,” he said.

The thanks was not for the pie. At least not completely.

Jody nodded to him, and pushed his slice closer. “You’re welcome.”

Dean offered Castiel a spoon. Castiel smiled, taking the first corner of the crust, eating it while everyone else received their dessert.

“Any good?” Dean asked Castiel.

Castiel looked fondly at Dean, and nodded. “Worth the wait.”

Jody saw Claire grinning like a Cheshire cat, quickly leaning to whisper into Kaia’s ear, making her grin.

Sam was rosy-cheeked with satisfaction. Jody noticed him texting under the table, but she allowed it, since he was undoubtedly updating Eileen on this massive development.

And Donna gazed at Jody, looking proud.

Donna raised her glass. “World like ours, it’s never, or forever,” she said. “And tonight, I raise a toast to _forever_.”

Everyone raised their glasses too. “Forever!”

Dean and Castiel raised theirs last, as Dean had to pour himself and Castiel some more cranberry juice.

“To forever,” Castiel said, gazing at Dean.

Dean clinked his glass.

As Dean drank, everyone drank.

And as Castiel smiled, and held Dean’s hand upon the table, thumb stroking – everyone smiled with him.

**{ the end }**

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed that!! There's more fics (SO many more) coming soon!! Including my 2018 DCBB fic, coming October or November. I'm so excited for you to read itttt~  
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> Wishing you all a peaceful day, and restful sleep. ♥♥♥  
> Elmie x


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